Paper or bill file



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. J. WELLS.

PAPER 0R BILL PILE.

No. 386,673. Patented July 24, 1888.

WITNESSES Y! ATTORNEYS,

7% www,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2*.

(No Model.)

A. J. WELLS.

PAPER 0R BILL PILE.

No. 386,673. Patented July 24, 1888.`

ATTORNEYS WITNESSES:

Nite "rares ARTHUR J. VELLS, OF SYRAOUSE, NE'V YORK.

PAPER OR BlLL FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 386,673, dated July 24, 1888.

Application tiled September 9, 1887.

To ad whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. WELLs, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State ot' New York, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Paper or Bill Files, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention consists in improvements in bill or paper tiles, and has for its object the production of asimple portable tile-rack which may be setup on the desk or in any desired position, and which may be readily adapted, by reason of its adjustahility, to any suitable dimensions for the use required of it, and to this end the invention consists, essentially, in a knockdown adjustable paper file or rack having a base provided with grooves or rabbets and slides provided with tongues adapted to be engaged with the grooves or rabbets of the base, whereby, when the slides or partitions are joined tothe base, adjustable compartments are produced, into which the papers or bills may be tiled.

lt consists, furthermore, in the detail construction and arrangements of the parts, all as hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In specifying my invention reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming apart of this speciication, in which, like letters indicating corresponding parts in all the views, Figure 1 is an isometric View of my improved paper-tile set up for use. Fig. 2 is a transverse section illustrating the manner of connecting the partitions or slides to the base, and also one of the slides provided with holders for forming a pen-rack. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the sliding tongue and pen-rack, the flanged base being in section. Fig. 4 shows a modification in the construction of the sliding tongue. Figs. 5 and G illustrate further modications in the tongueand-groove connection of the slides to the base.. Figs. 7 and S are respectively a top plan and front edge view of a further inoditieation in the construction of the rack, the grooves or rabbcts Vfor the slides being arranged transversely across the base instead of lengthwise, as in my preferred construction. Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate details of construction in the rack; and Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,and 16 illustrate further details and Serial No. 249,198. (No modehl also modifications in the construction of the tongue device on the slides.

A represents the base of my improved paper file or rack. Said base is provided with grooves a a, Fig. 1, which preferably extend lengthwise of the base, as best shown in Fig. l, which illustrates the preferred form or eX- ample of my invention.

Where the rack or paper-[ile is intended for use on tables or other places where it cannot abut against a back of some kind, I provide a back, B, as shown in Fig. which affords a support for papers thrown into the file.

O is a slide or partition provided with a base, d, and a tongue, e, which are bent over, as best shown in the sectional view, Fig. 2, the said tongue c engaging the groove or rabbet a when the slides or partitions C are set up on the base A.

It will be observed that each rack is made up of the base and a number of these partitions or slides O, and that, for convenience in shipping and portability, the slides may be taken otf of the base and packed within a small compass. At the same time, however, the important feature in respect to my improved paper-tile consists in providing the adjustable slides or partitions, which may be readily shifted on the base, so as to adapt the rack or tile to any purpose, as desired. Thus, where the le is used in a counting-room or mercantile office where there is a large correspondence, and it is desirable to file away temporarily letters awaiting the filling of orders or for any other purpose, by my invention a ile is produced whereby the compartments thereof may be adjusted to suit the circumstances of the correspondence readily, and the tile also may be so located as to keep the correspondence in convenient position where the same is not liable to be overlooked, and thus a very desirable acquisition to an office outfit is provided. Furthermore, the improved paper-tile is eX- ceedingly simple and durable in construction and susceptible of an elegant finish at a small expense, and is accordingly very desirable in this respect.

My invention is susceptible of several modifications in construction; hence I do not restrict myself to the specific construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

At Figs. 4, 5, and 6 I have illustrated a IOO modification in the construction of the partitions or slides. At Fig. 4 I have shown a slide or partition formed of wire with bends e, which serve the function of the tongues e in the eX- ample of my invention illustrated at Fig. 1. At Fig. 5 I have illustrated a modification in the construction of the slide, in which I bend up of sheet metal an Hshaped piece, E, provided with the tongue e, formed from the shorter leg of the H, and in this form I sirnply provide a groove or rabbet central in the base A.

At Fig. 3 I have illustrated a further modication of the construction of the tongue e, and have also shown the slide or partition G provided with eut-outs c, or brackets, which form pen-racks.

At Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated a still further modification in the construction of my improved paper-file, the essential 4difference consisting in providing the base with transverse grooves ct and providing the slides with tongues e, extending lengthwise thereof across the slide, the said tongues sliding in the transverse grooves a, as best shown in the drawings.

Figs. 9 and 10 show a still further modification, in which the grooves are formed in the vertical back B and the slides C have the tongue e on their rear edge instead of the lower edge. This modification is substantially the same as that illust-rated in Figs 7 and 8, with the addition of a side or fixed cud, F.

The inodications illustrated in Figs. 1l, 12, 13, 14, and 15 will be readily understood upon reference to the drawings, and relate wholly to the formation of the tongue e on the slides or partitions C.

At Fig. 12 the tongue e is formed by bending the metal of the slide itself angularly, as shown in the drawings, thus forming the tongue from the metal of the slide itself.

'seems At Figs. 13, 14, and 15 the partition or slide is formed of wire and the sheet-metal tongue is bent over the ends of the wire, as clearly shown in the drawings, and wrapped upon itself to stiffen `the tongue sufficiently for the desired purpose.

In the modification in which the transverse grooves are employed, as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, I form the grooves preferably of strips f, Fig. 16, having the rabbets a out on the op posite edges thereof, and secure such strips-f on the base A, as best shown in Fig. 8.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a paper or bill file, the combination, with a base formed with longitudinal grooves in its edges, of a series of partitions provided with tongues to engage said grooves, whereby the partitions are readily adjusted to forni a series of compartments of various sizes` substantially as and l'or the purpose set forth.

2. In a paper or bill tile, the combination, with a base, of a series of detachable partitions adjustable to and from each other, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination,with the longitudinallygrooved buse A, of the metallic slides or partitions C, provided with tongues e, to enter the grooved edges of the base, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name, in the presence of two attesti ng witnesses, atSyracuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the State of New York, this 5th day of Septen'iber, 1887.

. ARTHUR J. WELLS.

Vitnesses:

FREDERICK H. GIBBs, E. C. CANNON. 

